Sunday Musings - December 31, 2023
Welcome to New Year’s Eve - an ending and the doorway to new opportunities. It seems appropriate that I end this year with the last of my musings on the Beatitudes; the 8th one - verse 10 of Matthew 5 - in what Christian’s call The New Testament
“Blessed are they that suffer persecution for justice’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Sometimes the translation is “Blessed are they that suffer persecution for righteousness for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
In many respects this beatitude sums up the previous seven. The previous seven addressed the behavior of those who, within their human limitations, do their best to obey the teachings of Jesus. This 8th one reminds we students if we do our best to follow the teachings of Jesus, we may sometimes find that others attempt to silence us; to persecute us. On the day non-orthodox Christians celebrated the birth of Jesus, December 25, 2023, Pope Francis said:
“Christmas is a call to push for peace and to educate oneself about the arms industry, which foments killing. People, who desire not weapons but bread, who struggle to make ends meet and desire only peace, have no idea how many public funds are being spent on arms,’ he said.” (cbsmews.com).
It is not likely many Israelis, Palestinians, Russians, or others attempting to prevent further killings by munitions will hear this message as helpful or comforting. They may think the Pope is stupid or, at the very least, clueless about the reality of their lives.
This Pope has not allowed tradition, fear of criticism or even attempts to discredit his prophetic role in the Catholic Church to silence him or otherwise curb the behavior some might find offensive or in opposition to the role of the church. From the beginning this pope has insisted on carrying his own luggage, apologizing for past behavior, and demonstrating other unpopelike behavior, seemingly immune to potential consequences. He authentically seems to believe that the kingdom of heaven is creating a sacred internal space which no one can touch. Much like Bigger Thomas the chief character in Richard Wright’s Native Son, the pope apparently believes “No one can do anything but kill me and that ain’t nothin.” In other words, he believes this life journey is but an instant and all we truly own is our integrity - the power to speak our truth for this moment while keeping eyes and ears open to new understandings.
One will notice that the Pope did not suggest that we stone arms manufactures owners or employees. Following the teaching of Jesus, he is not intending to judge others but to lovingly point out the ways in which, even those who would call themselves Christians, can get off track; can fall into such traps as thinking more violent weapons are the path to peace.
Most of us do not have the responsibility or the power which comes with such leadership positions as that of Pope in the Catholic Church. Most of us will not be featured in world news reports if we dare to suggest we have to apply the teachings of teachers such as Jesus to all aspects of our life. Sadly. most of us will not even publicly make such suggestions. Many of us humans will fall victim to the temptation to construct carefully worded justifications for exceptions to His teachings. We might, for example, suggest, as have some of our past leaders, the profit from arms sales can help to create an economy which benefits many poor people.
Using the Holocaust as a reason to mistreat the Palestinian or past behavior of the Israelis toward Palestinians to justify the killings of October 7 might comfort some. Acting as if the actions of HAMAS or the bombing which took place on 9/11 occurred in a historical vacuum might seem to provide a rationale for more violence, even patriotic violence. Persecuting those who disagree with these ways of thinking might also seem justified to some. One might be discounted or even threatened if one suggests we must love those we label as our enemy; that violence will never, long term, bring peace.
We might expect the God of our understanding to bless us for lowering our voice to ensure no one is uncomfortable. Yet, this beatitude; this teaching of Jesus suggests we are:
o Expected to not allow any form of persecution to silence us.
o Expected to do the next right thing even if threatened with punishment or worse.
o Expected to let go of our attachment to this life journey and not allow fear to prevent us from attempting to live unpopular teachings of Jesus or other wise teachers.
We must, of course, always speak from a place of humility; knowing others might need to remind us of some teaching which we conveniently have ignored because it directly affects our privileged status. We might be tempted to persecute those who we label as the persecutors forgetting that love applies even to those.
The reader will notice that I have ignored any further discussion of the concept of justice which I have attempted to address in other blogs. I have simply suggested we consider some basic, seemingly radical teachings of this Jesus fellow; that attempting to ignore them has not resulted in a more loving and just world.
Written December 31, 2023
Jimmy F Pickett
coachpickett.org
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